Dow AgroSciences, Synthace Research Collaboration to Accelerate Product Development

Synthaceand Dow AgroSciences LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company, announced they have entered into a research collaboration to optimize technology by accelerating development of fermentation-based production of crop protection products.

The collaboration includes a multi-seat enterprise license giving Dow AgroSciences access to Synthace’s Antha software tools. As part of the agreement, Synthace’s advanced tools and software will be used to support development of superior microbial production strains at Dow AgroSciences. This collaboration brings together expertise in natural products from both companies to enable new approaches for accelerated product development.

This collaboration supports the ability of Dow AgroSciences to use the power of nature in conjunction with fermentation technology, to produce and develop solutions for farmers. These types of products prevent pest infestation and control disease to increase crop yields. Applying automated strain engineering enables quicker development of new microbial production hosts in the lab which can expedite development of fermentation processes for new products. Farmers win as new solutions can be brought to market more quickly. Dr. Tim Fell, Chief Executive Officer of Synthace, commented, “Antha is a platform that links research, development and biomanufacturing. We look forward to employing it with Dow AgroSciences to optimize tools and processes that enable them to continue to boost bottom-line performance.”

“It is important for Dow AgroSciences to bring new products to farmers faster and this collaboration on strain engineering will accelerate our ability to create novel microbial production strains,” said Dr. Nigel J. Mouncey, Bioengineering and Bioprocessing R&D Director, Dow AgroSciences. “Working with Synthace gives us the ability to achieve our goals more quickly in an expanded and automated manner via their innovative technologies.”